LA Girl matte flat finish pigment gloss- review and swatches

For the past few days, I've been roadtesting this baby. It's the much hyped about LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss (what a mouthful!) Basically, it's a liquid to matte lipstick, but its affordable pricepoint (I got mine for around a fiver on ebay) and wide shade variety have made it pretty talked about. The thing is, it's received mixed reviews. So I'm gonna throw my two cents into the mix.

First off, the packaging. I like it! It doesn't look cheap at all, and has a modern, funky kinda vibe. It's also generously sized- I expected it to be much smaller. Another perk is that it shows the shade, which is pretty handy for lipstick hoarders like me. My favourite aspect of the packaging, though, is the applicator. Most liquid lipsticks have doefoot wands, but this has a long, flattened paddle shape that sweeps on colour to fill a wider surface area, minimising patchiness and making clean lines easy.

I got the shade 'timeless', and I absolutely adore it. It's a wonderful pink/lilac hybrid that reminds me of a slightly more pastel version of Lime Crime's Utopia. I've had compliments every time I've worn it. Win!

la girl matte pigment gloss- timeless

Now, my first impressions were as follows: it glides on easily and is highly pigmented, though not entirely opaque. Two coats get you full pigmentation though, and the formula layers with no problems. There's a moderate drying time that allows for blending and touch ups before it's tattoo-like. The finish is flawless- it looks truly matte but not flakey or powdery at all. And, amazingly, it feels great on the lips. Most liquid to mattes are drying to say the least but this wasn't drying at all. There was hardly any transfer and it was long lasting.

So what's the problem? Well, after looking up various reviews online, I found a lot of people complaining of stickiness. Then I tried pressing my lips together and saw what they meant. If you touch your lips with your finger, it will feel fully dry and not sticky at all, but if you press your lips together, they kind of adhere and slowly prise apart. You know like when a child semi blows up a balloon in a wet splashy fashion, and then the balloon deflates and wrinkles up as the air the air vacuums out, and then you have to peel the balloon apart? It's sort of like that.

Or, to put it in beauty junkie terms, it's similar to those two-step lip products. One side is a long lasting liquid to matte that dries down but sticks your lips together, the other side is a gloss or balm that fixes that problem. Like Rimmel Provocalips (review here). Either way, I didn't even notice it, and it still doesn't bother me at all. That's probably because my closed lips don't overlap, so they never have a chance to stick unless I rub my lips, which isn't something I do unless I'm wearing a glossy lipstick.

la girl matte pigment gloss- timeless

So. All in all, I am more that thrilled with this lippy. But if your lips overlap or you're habitually rub your lips together, you might find it quite irritating. I have found that that only one layer has hardly any stickiness, but layering, or layering before letting the previous coat dry will have a more tacky finish. That said, if you find it's not for you, at least you've not wasted too much money. Me? I'm going back for some more shades...